


No Mercy for the Wicked

by dancer4813



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Kima is best Vengeance Paladin, Kimallura, Missing Scene, Oath of Vengeance, Tal'dorei Campaign, episode 77 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 14:43:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8756656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancer4813/pseuds/dancer4813
Summary: A missing scene from just before/at the beginning of Episode 77:The archanist, who usually stood tall, almost regal in her bearing, was curled up behind the crates in a tight ball, arms wrapped around her middle and knees pulled up to her chest. Her eyes were closed, the braids that were usually the epitome of perfection looked disheveled, and there was an unnatural tension in her shoulders that went beyond simple concern, worry, or fear.Something – or someone – had terrified her, and Kima had a feeling she knew exactly who it was. A flare of anger in her chest burned toward Xanthas, and she clenched her hands into fists, wanting nothing more than to beat that spineless coward to a pulp. Preferably until he stopped moving. Forever.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Kima and Allura have been giving me happy and sad feels since this episode (and Matt seriously terrified me for a moment), so this was born of those feelings. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Title from the Player's Handbook; it's one of the Tenents of the Oath of Vengeance:  
>  _"No Mercy for the Wicked: Ordinary foes might win my mercy, but my sworn enemies do not."_

Kima tapped her foot impatiently, her fingers twitching on the hilt of her new sword, recently taken from Vorugal’s hoard.

She had never in her life pretended she was patient, and nobody who knew Kima would be able to vouch for her ability to act as such, but there was, more or less, a war going on, and she really didn’t think they had time for secret chats, regardless of what those chats were about.

Yes, she let the meetings in Whitestone happen, but with all of their allies in one place those made sense. A one-on-one discussion wasn’t going to get them anywhere new.

Xanthas would not have been Kima’s first choice of ally, either; she’d only met the man twice and both times he’d let her walk right over him (figuratively, of course), with little to no effort on Kima’s part. From what Allura had said, though, while the man might be a sniveling coward on some occasions he was also a fair spellcaster and able to fight if need be. Allura had also argued he had been put in charge of guarding the Transverse Junction, so Uriel must have trusted him to _some_ extent, not to mention that they could use all the allies they could muster to fight Thordak. And that wasn't to mention the fact that he’d come all the way to Fort Daxio from Emon to bring them “important information from the city”.

Kima had begrudgingly agreed, following Allie to meet with the man, only to be dismissed by him to her room like a naughty child. She knew the man didn’t like her, but they were all on the same side – he’d have to get used to her at some point. Allie had given her a sympathetic look, closely followed by her signature “I don’t need you to fight battles for me” expression that Kima was all too familiar with.

She had originally been planning to give Xanthas and Allura twenty full minutes on their own to talk about whatever “sensitive information” they needed to discuss without her, but only a few minutes after they had headed off Kima had felt unease stir in her gut and had followed them, asking around until the General had directed her to the strategy room, where she had allowed them a private space to talk. But when Kima had arrived at the door she had not been able to hear anything by putting her ear against it, which set her on edge.

“How are you doing in there?” she called after another few moments tapping her foot and trying to figure out if she was just being paranoid, loud enough for someone to hear her two halls over.

No answer was forthcoming from behind the door, and Kima felt a shiver creep up her spine. She sent a quick prayer to Bahamut that nothing had gone wrong. It was ridiculous – she hadn’t heard anything to indicate something was wrong – but Kima’s instinct was making her insides curl around each themselves in knots and the hair on the back of her neck stand up. And it wasn’t often Kima’s instinct was wrong.

“I’m giving you ten seconds!” she called, closing her eyes as if it would help her hear the nonexistent response.

Kima held herself back until the count of five, then strode toward the door, knocking with three sharp raps against the door even as she redoubled her grip on her sword.

Still no answer.

Kima took a deep breath in, released it, and repeated the process, trying to repress the hot prickle of anger burning in her core.

“I hope I get to fight something today,” she muttered to herself, before waiting one heartbeat, two, then throwing open the door and striding in.

“I don’t care if this is some secret shit!” Kima shouted, probably louder than strictly necessary, as she walked in. “But there’s a dragon out there, and I don’t-“

She cut herself short, seeing no one in the room.

Swearing, Kima kicked one leg of the strategy table and marched over to the door on the opposite side of the room.

Opening it, she found only a closet, filled with bandages and scrolls of paper.

“Where did that fucker go?” Kima muttered. “And with Allura too. That no-good, double-crossing-“

Kima was cut off by a thump from behind her, followed by a muffled squeak. Puzzled, she turned to see a pile of crates in the corner, a bit of blue fabric visible behind the wood.

A very familiar bit of blue fabric…

“Allie?”

Kima walked over to the crates, peering behind them as she did, Allura’s form gradually coming into view.

The archanist, who usually stood tall, almost regal in her bearing, was curled up behind the crates in a tight ball, arms wrapped around her middle and knees pulled up to her chest. Her eyes were closed, the braids that were usually the epitome of perfection looked disheveled, and there was an unnatural tension in her shoulders that went beyond simple concern, worry, or fear.

Something – or some _one_ – had terrified her, and Kima had a feeling she knew exactly who it was. A flare of anger in her chest burned toward Xanthas, and she clenched her hands into fists, wanting nothing more than to beat that spineless coward to a pulp. Preferably until he stopped moving. Forever.

“Allie, what happened?” Kima asked, dropping her voice as best she could despite the rage burning within her.

Allura looked up, eyes wide and confused, and Kima felt her heart stop at the sight of thick tear tracks on her face.

“Allie, what’s wrong?” she asked, crouching down. “What happened?”

Allura flinched at the sudden movement, making Kima halt her approach.

Allura looked back up at Kima, and Kima felt a vise-like grip seize her chest.

“Allie,” she tried, lowering her voice even more. “It’s me, Kima. Do you recognize me?”

She crept forward, taking it slow, though she had a raging desire to run off and find Xanthas and tear off his limbs. He wasn’t a _great_ spellcaster, and he couldn’t have gone far.

But Allura’s gaze was still confused, her head still tilted to one side, and Kima felt the flaming desire for vengeance be tempered by an ache of helplessness.

Kima, since she had met Allura, would never have described the woman as lacking in intelligence or charm – or anything, for that matter – but the only word she could use to define the look in Allura’s eyes, when Kima found her cowering behind the crate, was… dull. The archanist’s crystal blue eyes, which Kima had seen flare with magical power and stare down the most powerful mages, which had sparkled with laughter and mirth around campfires on the road, looked tenderly into Kima’s own on more than one occasion, and had been passionate in every glance, were open, unfocused, and, for lack of a better term, hollow.  

Kima’s mouth opened, then closed again, totally and utterly lost for words.

“What did he do?” she murmured, reaching out her hand, palm up, to the woman in front of her. “Could you come out from back there so I-“

The sound of multiple horns interrupted her as they filled the air, a distinctive call that rang out through the stonework of the fort. Almost immediately yells and shouts began to ring through the halls, and Kima turned to the door, which was still open on its hinges. The thunder of feet heralded the arrival of General Ellie and a few of her subordinates, who began to gather supplies before one of them noticed Kima.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

Kima opened her mouth, but a gentle touch on Kima’s fingers made her jump instead of answering his question.

She turned to Allura, who pulled her outstretched hand back at the sudden movement. Kima reached out toward her again.

“No, it’s alri-“

“Kima, thank goodness,” the General interrupted, her voice loud and strident as she walked over. “What are you- is that Allura?”

“Shhh,” Kima hissed, scowling at Ellie, but when she turned back to Allura the woman had withdrawn even farther into the space behind the crates, her eyes darting all around to those behind Kima.

Kima sighed heavily and stood up, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Turns out that Xanthas was a fucking traitor,” she said, spitting the words past her teeth. “He attacked Allura and bolted, leaving her like this. I have no idea what he did, but he’s gone and I bet there’s something attacking the fort right now, hmm?”

The General’s face didn’t change expression apart from the twitch of one eyebrow, but she exhaled a long breath through her nose, nodding her head.

“You would be correct with that guess,” she said, opening her mouth as if to speak again before looking around at the others who had followed her. “Well, what are you all doing?” she asked, gesturing to them with a wide sweep of her hand. “We have a simple objective – defend this fort. Get a move on!”

A chorus of affirmation echoed back as the soldiers gathered what they needed and left the room. When the last had left, the General turned back to Kima.

“So Xanthas was a spy?”

“Yep,” Kima snapped, glancing at Allura over her shoulder.

“Is she alright?”

“Does it fucking look like it?” Kima exclaimed, her anger finally bursting the seams. “This was some magic shit, and once we find a cleric we can heal her, but until then I just want to help her know she’s safe.”

There was a piercing screech from outside the window, Ellie and Kima turning their heads just in time to see a wyvern, no two, three, _four_ , swoop past the window.

“Well, relatively safe,” she amended, adrenaline beginning to prickle through her chest, it’s warmth spreading through her limbs. “Go, fight, and I’ll be up once I’m done here.”

General Ellie frowned at the command, but her hand was already on her sword and she nodded to Kima. “Godspeed,” she said before rushing out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Kima sent thanks to Bahamut for the General and before her footsteps had finished echoing back through the hall, Kima was back on her knees, her armor clattering against the stone floor, her hand once again reaching out to Allura.

“Allie, they’re all gone now, just you and me,” she said, forcing her voice to stay calm.

Allura opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came from her lips save a strangled cry that struck Kima through the heart.

“Allie, come out,” Kima requested, shuffling backwards on her knees.

Another screech sounded from outside, followed quickly by the sound of something landing above them, but Kima didn’t flinch, her eyes on Allura.

Tears poured from the archanist’s eyes as she scooted forward, a wary and frightened expression on her face as she emerged from behind the crate. But, once she had made sure no one else was in the room, Allura launched herself toward Kima, almost knocking her to the ground.

Kima just managed to catch Allura’s form, hugging the taller woman to her chest in a strange parody of the way she remembered Allura holding her when she had returned from the Underdark.

Allura was shaking just as Kima had finally allowed herself to then, and Kima held her tightly, remembering the anchoring presence of Allura’s arms around her form.

“Hey, it’s alright – he’s not going to hurt you anymore,” Kima promised, kissing the top of Allura’s head and allowing herself to rock back and forth for a few moments, cradling Allura’s form until another echoing screech sounded and Kima felt the anger return, focused and fiery.

She pulled back from Allura, gentle as she untangled Allura’s arms from her shoulders, and fixed her Allie with a steady gaze, the sight of the renewed tear tracks acting like bellows to the flames of vengeance curling inside her.

“I’m going to find the fucker that did this to you,” she said, brushing away some of Allura’s tears with a gauntleted hand, letting some of Bahamut’s divine magic seep into Allura’s skin as she did so. “And I am going to make him pay. But you need to stay here, and stay safe, got that?”

Allura’s eyes were more focused, but still uncomprehending. Kima nodded and helped Allura to her feet, leading her to a bench along one wall.

“Stay, Allie,” she said, pulling her fingers from Allura’s tight grip. “I’ll be back for you soon with help, I promise.”

Allura seemed to understand, so Kima nodded again and kissed her on the forehead, lingering for a split-second before turning back to grab her sword.

“I’ll be back,” Kima promised again at the door, looking back over her shoulder to see Allura sitting where Kima had left her on the bench, her legs tucked up to her chest again, one hand raised to her hairline, the fingers ghosting across her forehead.

Kima heard Bahamut roar in the back of her mind and hefted her sword in front of her as she entered the hallway and closed the door to the strategy room behind her.

“You are going to regret your whole life when I’m through with you,” Kima shouted to the empty hall, the vision of Xanthas in her mind stoking her desire for vengeance as she ran through the fort to the sound of wyverns and metal and the smell of fire.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking of writing a second part to this, focusing on the "Restitution" part of the Oath of Vengeance - "If my foes wreak ruin on the world, it is because I failed to stop them. I must help those harmed by their misdeeds" - if there's enough interest - let me know if you'd like me to write more about the lovely ship Kimallura! ^_^
> 
> Also, to see me recommend fanfics, scream about Kimallura, Perc'ahlia, and Cassandra de Rolo (or, you know, just Critical Role in general) check out my writing tumblr: [dancerwrites](http://www.dancerwrites.tumblr.com), or my main blog: [dancer4813](http://www.dancer4813.tumblr.com).


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